Tournament of War
by Ron-weasleys-red-vines
Summary: *book plots mixed a bit* The Triwizard Tournament is brought to Hogwarts along with two new students who seem to be a little different from your average witch and wizard. When Lilly Knight puts her name in the Goblet of Fire she starts her mission and captures a young slytherins heart. But what does her appearance do to the fate of the wizarding world?
1. Chapter 1

*These lovely characters are J. , only Lilly and Demetri Knight belong to me! Thanks J.K.R!*

Year Six

As the students settled into their places in the great hall at the start of the new school year, they chatted quietly as the incoming first years were sorted rather evenly into their respective houses. Draco sat with his usual two ruffians and Pansy. She was leaning all over him in her usual annoying style and Draco tried his hardest to zone out for tonight's dinner. He was rather uninterested with his friends and his mind kept pulling him back to the awful nightmares he had been having since he was branded with his dark mark over the summer. As his thoughts drifted to the violent scenes of a mysterious female he had never met, his hand fidgeted with his fork absentmindedly and Dumbledore took the stand for his usual round of welcome speeches and teacher introductions for, surprise! another defense against the dark arts teacher. He must have been pretty zoned out because it took a rather forceful elbow in the gut from his friend to shake him back into reality.

"Did you hear that? Some new kids in our year." Goyle laughed. Crabbe snickered "Wonder if they`re any mudbloods worth pushin` around."

The doors to the Great Hall opened again and in walked two students. A boy and a girl. Twins. When Draco saw the girl he froze in his seat. She had long brown hair to her waist, a light coating of freckles across her nose and upper cheeks, piercing blue eyes that screamed 'you don't want to fuck with me', slightly less than average height and she walked like no one could touch the queen. She was radiant and seemed so powerful with the most fragile build. Her brother was exactly the same. The only difference was the colors they sported. She proudly strode into the hall in her Ravenclaw uniform and he did the same for Gryffindor. Dumbledore introduced the pair as Lilly and Demetri Knight. Draco couldn't stop staring and Pansy was growing irritated beside him. There was something about that girl. He had seen her before and he knew it. The twins went to sit at their respective tables, quick to introduce themselves and blend right in as if they had attended the school as long as their new peers had. Draco shook it off when Pansy sighed so loudly in his ear e thought someone was deflating a balloon next to him.

"Jeeeese Drakey it's not like she's important or anything. Just another useless mudblood."

"Yah…" he turned his attention back to his friends and scolded himself for paying attention to the new girl in the first place.

When the chatter had settled Dumbledore drew the rooms attention again as he introduced the only thing that actually got Draco interested enough in the nights events to pay attention. Apparently, it was Hogwarts turn to host the Triwizard tournament. After a small rendition of the history of the games, he introduced Minister Fudge. Fudge addressed the students by announcing the arrival of the two other competing schools, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Academy. The two schools entered in dramatic and theatrical stunts and sat at reserved tables.

"Hey man those French chicks aint so rough on the eyes, eh?" Blaise commented. Draco ignored his friend.

Fudge then opened the casing that protected the Triwizard Cup. It was the most magnificent thing in its glowing blue glory and there was excited chatter all throughout the room.

"Settle down now! Each of you will have two weeks time to submit your name, should you decide to do so, to the goblet of fire for selection. But do not do so lightly, for, if chosen, there is no going back." Dumbledore warned before dismissing the nights dinner.

After terrorizing some first year Gryffindors and sending some first year Hufflepuffs in the opposite direction of their dorms, Draco and his gang decided to retire for the night.

"Puttin' my name in tomorrow" Goyle announced. Draco just laughed it off, knowing his friend would never actually do it. He flopped down on his bed and let out a long breath. It felt better to be out of his house and somewhere where he didn't have his father or the dark lord breathing down his neck. He kicked off his shoes and stared up at the cover of the canopy on his bed. He was the last one awake, as usual, and for some reason that he was growing increasingly frustrated over, he could not shake the image of that Ravenclaw girl from the front of his mind. _What is wrong with you? Just forget about that pathetic know-it-all. But she seems so familiar…hmph. Probably just some snobby brat you ran into in Diagon Alley or something. _Eventually he drifted off.

Lilly finished organizing her things and hopped into bed in her fancy tower dorm room. She loved the view from the window because you could see the entirety of the school grounds and part of the lake. "Hey." She looked to the bed next to hers at a petite bleach-blond girl whispering to get her attention. "My names' Luna. Welcome to Hogwarts."

Lilly smiled back "Thanks! Its nice here."

"So where are you from? You sound American."

Lilly nodded "I`m from America but I was born in Greece."

Luna perked up and came to sit on Lillys bed. "And your brother?"

"Same. We usually follow each other so when I decided to try a real school he decided to tag along."

The two of them talked all night. Luna got Lilly all caught up on the more important social regulations of Hogwarts and some other basic rules to follow. The two shared stories and slept an approximate total of 5 minutes. In the morning, Lilly followed Luna down for breakfast in the morning. They were laughing and Luna had made Lilly tell her about the time that she visited Washington D.C. Neither of them were paying very much attention. Draco was exiting the Great Hall after a run in with Potter when he opened the door and walked right into Lilly, knocking her books out of her hands and dropping the muffins he was sneaking out.

"God you pathetic little oaf watch where you are walking." He spat at her, shoving past her and blending into the crowded hallway.

"Who the bloody hell was that?" Lilly asked, flustered and rubbing her shoulder as a different boy with black hair and glasses helped her pick up her books.

"Here. And that was Draco Malfoy by the way. Don't let him bother you, he's a cold shoulder to everyone." He offered her a friendly smile and her books. As soon as Lilly spotted the scar on his forehead she knew who she was talking to.

"Thanks Harry." He nodded, obviously used to people just knowing who he was. He asked if Lilly and Luna wanted to sit with him, Ron and Hermione for breakfast and the two Ravenclaws agreed.

After Ancient Runes with Hermione and Herbology with Ron and another boy named Neville, Lilly followed her new friend Ron to meet up with Harry and the others for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She took a seat next to Luna as their professor introduced himself as a Mr. 'Mad-Eye' Moody. He started a lesson about the dangers of Doxies and Lilly zoned out, doodling in her notebook. Whenever he asked a question, however, Lilly was always the first to respond and she always had the correct answer. The class was slightly surprised since the role of resident encyclopedia had already been occupied by Hermione.

Over the next few weeks things continued on normally. Lilly and Demetri grew accustomed to their new school and Lilly scored a chaser position on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She was fast and so ruthless that she knocked two seventh years off their brooms and scored a record setting number of goals in her very first game. She had grown to be quite the name-to-know around the school. She and Hermione had regular tudy sessions in the library every week but since Lilly had a rather difficult potions test coming up she decided to stay after Hermione elected to turn in for the night.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"

"No, Hermione it's alright, I just want to go over a few more potions. Nothing I can't handle, but thanks for the offer." She gave her friend a smile and waved as she left. Lilly had finished with two books and got up to put them back while reading a third. Though, walking while reading probably wasn't the best idea she had ever had, she bumped into someone who proceeded to smack her books out of her hands.

"Bloody freak. It`s no wonder you don't have any friends." The blond haired Slytherin scoffed, kicking one of her books away.

She picked it up and tried to unfold the bent pages. She didn't tolerate stuck up snobs back in America and she _certainly _wouldn't tolerate entitled rich boys here either. She stacked her books back on the shelf and responded coolly. "I have 6 more than you'll ever have and I don't have to be rich to keep them around."

Draco seemed slightly dumbfounded that someone had talked back to him after a run-in. She was the one to shove past him this time and then walked off down the small flight of stairs and out of the library with the same confidence she had when she first walked into the great hall. Draco watched as she walked off, feeling a strange rush come over him that was an emotion he was rather afraid of. He shook his head and stormed out into the hall and into the 'out of order' bathroom. He undid his tie and leaned against the sink. _That bloody girl who on earth does she think she is? _He sighed and splashed water on his face. He had developed some rather unattractive eye bags from a lack of sleep. Over the past month he had been unable to shake her from his head and almost every night he had been cursed with the same damned dream of a bloody, cut up girl on the floor of his mansion living room. Both images haunted him and no matter how hard he tried they found him every time he closed his eyes. A singing burn shot up his arm and his mind started to switch into worry mode. He rolled up his sleeve, looking slightly disgusted at the mark that branded his forearm. He gripped the edge of the sink, biting his lip through the pain as the stress washed over him and for the first time in years he allowed a few tears. He had been so consumed by thought that he failed to hear the door open behind him. Lilly was slightly surprised to see him leaning over the sink, she set her books down and approached carefully, afraid that he was sick. He noticed something move in the mirror and whipped around, the tip of his wand pressed hard under her chin. She held her hands up.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. I heard crying and I figured I would check it out because it didn't sound like Myrtle."

Draco was stunned and struggled over several reactions to the situation he found himself in. He was angry at himself for crying and even angrier that _she _of all people in this damned school had to have been the one to find him. He shoved her onto the floor and turned back to the sink, quickly tugging his sleeve back down and wiping his eyes; trying to make it look like he hadn't been crying though she had clearly heard him.

"Shove off, Knight." He spat her name like it was a poison.

"Hey I'm just trying to see if you're ok. Don't have to be so rude." She picked her book bag back up off the floor and put it on her shoulder. She nodded towards his arm. "Is there something wrong..? Because I'm a very good healer and if it's an injury I could probably hel…"

"No! Just go away!"He turned and pointed his wand at her, his arm shaking slightly. His mask was back on. Any sign of vulnerability vanished when he fired a jinx at her. She blocked it quick enough, the shot hitting a sink faucet and spraying water everywhere.

"Alright. Jeesh." She decided to leave. Draco sank to the floor, his head throbbing. _Why did she offer to help me? Why should she give a damn. _He sighed and put his head in his hands, silently submitting to the rain wetting his clothes from the sink he broke. Though he could never admit it out loud to himself, he hadn't wanted her to leave.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Lilly met up with her brother outside the Great Hall after classes were over. They walked in and sat with Luna and Ron. Demetri pulled out the new goodies he had scored from the Weasley twins and planned to use on some Slytherins that had been bothering his sister. He pointed out the trio of the usual green-clad suspects to both Fred and George who perked up at the idea of getting the three little snobs. Lilly closed the book she was reading, straightened up her tie, and stood up. She walked over to the goblet with her small piece of paper, crossed the age line, and submitted herself for judgment in the blue flames. The room clapped and her group of friends cheered for her as she walked back to them. Her brother hugged her and a bunch of other Ravenclaws came over for high-fives.

On the other side of the room, Draco sat with his usual crowd and watched Lilly go back to her friends. He was stunned that she had put her name in, especially since it was just her first year. _Would you stop? Jeesus Malfoy, get your head on straight. It doesn't matter. Hell, if she died in that task it would just mean more sleep for you._ He huffed in self-agreement and watched Lilly leave with her brother, he couldn't ignore the small jolt of fear he felt when Lilly dropped that paper in the goblet. Crabbe elbowed him.

"You alright mate? Awfully spacey."

"I`m fine." He shrugged his friend off and left the hall. Draco walked out to the grounds and up to the Quidditch field. He sat by himself high in the stands and put his head in his hands, trying to clear his mind. _Why can't I get her out of my head!? She's just another stupid mudblood! _He gripped his hands in his hair. _Why did she try to help you then, huh? Ugh! Why do I even care! That idiot. _No matter how hard he tried, his mind kept replaying the scene from yesterday in the bathroom. That look on her face. She seemed so concerned but he had been nothing but awful to her; and on purpose too. Why couldn't she just be like every other god damned Ravenclaw he had met? _Why does she have to be so bloody weird and annoying and funny and beautiful and...ugh! What are you even saying! Listen to yourself! _

"Draco? What are you doing out here?" His heart nearly stopped and he rolled his eyes so hard his head almost spun. It just _had _to be her. He lifted his head up to see Lilly in front of him in her Quidditch shirt and pads, obviously here to get in some practice time. "You alright?"

He stood up and shoved her out of the way, walking back across the field. The next thing he knew, his legs locked and he fell face first onto the Quidditch field.

"Now you listen here," she flipped him over and pressed her wand under his chin just as he had done to her. She had a furious but faint glow of gold in her blazing blue eyes and Draco actually was afraid of getting punched in the face for a moment. "I don't know what your gods damned problem with me is but I`m done taking your attitude. If you're stressed or something this isn't the way to deal with it. If you're sick, this isn't the way to cope with it. I don't know your story or why your such an ass to everyone outside of your house but if you push me one more time I`ll give you nightmares so bad Voldemort would be afraid to fall asleep." And with that she pushed him back into the sand. Draco stared up at the sky, shocked and flustered. That was twice that she had shut him down. Lilly put her wand back in her bag and offered him a hand. He resentfully took it and pulled himself up. Draco brushed off his shirt.

"Sorry." He said quietly but angrily. Lilly turned back around, surprised.

"Did you just apologize to me? You? Draco Malfoy? Maybe you really are sick."

He rolled his eyes and huffed off the field. He had to get away from her and pull himself back together. Though he was also surprised to hear himself say it, he truly was sorry.

The next day all the schools were gathered in the Great Hall. Lilly sat with her usual crowd. Dumbledore and Fudge stood in front of the goblet and quieted everyone.

"Students! It is time to select our three champions!" Dumbledore announced. He turned towards the goblet which shot a tall blue flame up to the roof and spat out a small piece of ruffled paper. He caught it and read "Our Beauxbatons champion is...Fleur Delacore!" A young blond stood up, her friends cheering for her as she happily walked over to Fudge and was escorted to a small room behind the great hall. "Our second champion..." He grabbed the next piece of paper, "Victor Krum!" a tall, strong-built Durmstrang student stood up and bowed slightly to Dumbledore before following Fleur to the back room. Lilly noticed Hermione blush slightly when he looked her way and he laughed. Hermione hit her shoulder.

"And finally our Hogwarts champion is..." he unfolded the last piece of paper "Lilly Knight!" Lilly stood up, all she could hear was excited cheering from her friends and the rest of the Ravenclaw house as she walked over to Dumbledore, excitement and adrenaline made her heart beat in her ears as she joined her fellow champions in the back room who greeted her nicely.

Draco stiffened as soon as her name was called and, though he was angry at himself for it, he was scared for her. Blaise laughed out loud. "Oi, I hope she goes in an interesting way. Mauled by a werewolf or strangled by Devils Snare." Draco punched his friends arm rather hard, causing some other Slytherins to look over in a questioning manner.

"Wassa matter, Malfoy, got a little soft spot for the newbird?"

"No." He said flatly, giving them a cold stare that left them rather unsettled and the matter was dropped.

As the ceremony was about to come to an end the goblet acted up one more time and spewed reddish flames and another piece of paper. The students fell silent as Dumbledore read off the name of a competitor who was not supposed to compete.

Lilly and Fleur sat talking in the champions' room when the door opened and Harry of all people walked in as the fourth champion. Lilly tried to act shocked. "What are you doing back here?" She asked.

"Exactly what I want to know." Harry replied, seeming just as nervous as Lilly was.

Fudge entered, shouting accusations of Harry tampering and cheating before Dumbledore calmed him down. "He must compete. The cup is Harry shoud refuse to participate he will die." Lilly swallowed rather hard and Harry sank into the couch. She sat next to him and offered a comfort hug.

"The first task will be in three days. Meet back here to be escorted to the arena." And with that the champions were dismissed.

That night after dinner Lilly and her friends went to Hagrids to tell him the news, he brought both Lilly and Harry into the Forbidden Forest to a clearing deep in the woods.

"Hagrid, why on earth are we…" Harry was cut off by a thunderous roaring and a bright blast of orange. Lilly moved aside a wall of bushes and there sat four gigantic cages each with a different, starving dragon. Lilly was shocked.

"We have to fight those?" Harry asked, seemingly growing increasingly angry that somehow his name was pulled from the cup.

"I don't know if I can morally kill a dragon." Lilly commented, looking at the caged creatures. "…but at least I know what I`m up against." She muttered something about training with Demetri and spending the next three days in the library.

When they got back she said goodnight to Harry, promising to meet up with him tomorrow to research together, and headed to the library to see what she could find about the dragons tonight. As she made her way down the hallway she heard a rather loud bang from the 'out of order' girls bathroom and decided to see who was snooping around (aside from her) that late at night. She used some of her…different…talents to sneak into the bathroom using the shadows from the doorframe to travel in and stay hidden where she could still watch. And there, yet again leaning over the sink, was Draco. He seemed to be in a considerable amount of pain and, from behind, it looked like he was trying to scrub something off his forearm.

Lilly separated from the shadows behind him. "Draco..?"

He whipped around, his grip on the sink slipping having been caught off guard and he stumbled slightly, struggling to pull down his sleeve. His eyes were red as if he had been crying again or rubbing them too much. Lilly reached forward and grabbed his forearm far too fast for him to even react and she pushed his sleeve up. His arm was red and covered in little cuts that seemed to have been from his fingernails but what shocked her was the Dark Mark smack dab in the middle of his forearm. She looked up at him but he wouldn't look at her. He didn't fight her; he just stood there in shame, all disheveled and sickly looking. She sighed and took her sweater off, setting it on the floor and she had him sit on it. She grabbed a small cauldron from her bag, filled it with warm water, grabbed an old cloth, and sat in front of Draco. She took hold of his arm and her eyes glowed a slight shade of gold and the cuts healed themselves and the pain in his arm ceased.

"How did you..." He asked rather quietly and slightly surprised.

"I told you earlier," she rolled his sleeve back down and re-did the buttons on the cuff, "I'm a good healer." She said calmly, giving him a tiny smile.

"Why are you helping me." He asked flatly, with an undertone of anger.

Lilly took the little rag and dipped it in the water before proceeding to clean off his forearm. "Because. I see the little fronts you put on. That's not really you. When you push kids around? You're covering up. And now I know why." She pointed to his arm. "I can help you, you know. I don't think you're really as bad as you act." She paused, stood up and flattened out her skirt, then got something out of her bag.

"You can't help me."

"Yes, actually, I can." She sat back down. "I can get you out of this but you have to let somebody help you for once." Draco didn't know what was happening to him but he felt a small drop of water run off his cheek. Lilly shook her head, laughing a tiny bit. She wiped the tears off his cheeks before turning back to her cleaning job. Here was the girl he hated for printing herself on the inside of his eyelids, sitting in front of him, offering him a way out of hell. He felt pathetic and more vulnerable than he ever had in his entire life but he felt like he was completely safe with this girl in the room.

"How can you help."

"You just have to trust me. I know that's asking a lot from a 'pathetic mudblood'." She imitated his voice, giving him a little look. Draco let out a breath and went over his options in his head. Despite his social obligations and his fear of what Voldemort would do to him if he found out, he couldn't help but feel safer with this girl around. "Ok."

"Ok what."

"Ok I trust you…"

She gave him a little smile and helped him to his feet. "Then take this," she handed him a small vial of what looked like tea leaves, "and brew one cup every day until it runs out. It will help with the arm pain."

"Why don't you hate me." He asked quietly, shocked that she wasn't going to fight him or turn him in. Lilly turned around.

"A tattoo doesn't define a person. A soul does. I know a thing or two about souls, Draco, and yours can be saved." She seemed to vanish into thin air and there was this faint sound of a bird flapping its wings that Draco shrugged off as a bat. There he stood, alone in the dark with the moonlight shining thinly through the dusty stain glass window, staring at the tiny vial in his hand. He closed his fist around it, feeling the lingering warmth from being in Lillys hand. For the first time in months, he slept for a full night.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Lilly headed down to the Quidditch field directly after class. She was meeting her brother for combat practice in case she had to defend herself against a dragon with no wand, not like she needed one anyway. Demetri would come at her with fists and hexes and he blocked them all with counter-charms and fight moves, not ever touching her wand. Draco sat quietly by himself in the stands and watched. He hadn't been able to focus all day so he had cut his last class and came out to the field to think when the twins showed up. So he decided to stay and observe . He had never seen a witch capable of such strong magic without a wand. There was definitely something off about this girl. Something about her reflexes and just her energy didn't seem right to him. Not in a bad way, but she didn't seem like your average witch. He figured it was probably just her rather obvious, headstrong personality. He rubbed his forearm as he thought about how she had healed him with just a touch and she didn't even use a spell. It was unlike anything he had seen before. He liked it.

Eventually they packed up their things and Lilly headed off for the library. Demetri told her he would see her before the first task the next day then headed to his dorm. Draco got up and decided to follow Lilly, hoping to get the chance to talk with her alone.

Once she was in the library, Lilly collected a stack of books on different dragons, snuggled into a corner table on the uppermost floor, and read. After a few minutes she was jarred from her zone by someone clearing their throat lightly. She looked up, slightly surprised, to see Draco with his own small stack of books on dragons that he had obviously just stolen from the forbidden section. "Surprise seeing you here. Wasn't sure if you actually knew Hogwarts had a library." She said, laughing slightly and taking her feet off the second chair so he could sit.

"What's with all the dragon books."

"That's the first task." She replied, not looking up from the page she was reading. He just nodded, he couldn't explain it to himself but he felt nervous for some reason about that information. She traded her smaller book for a 900 page encyclopedia. She looked up over the edge of her book, raising an eyebrow at him. "Mind if I ask what you're doing here?" He leaned back in his chair and set down the book he was holding.

"I guess I just wanted to say good luck tomorrow…"

Lilly set her book on her lap and cocked her head slightly. "No insults? An actual conversation? I'm seriously starting to think that you have a terrible disease." Draco rolled his eyes and Lilly laughed a bit, turning her attention back to her book. Her laugh did something to him that he had never felt before. It was so light and full of life. _Ugh, there you go again. Stop it. Stop thinking that stuff. _

They stayed there for the next few hours. She would read and he would get her new books. Lilly couldn't decide if he was attempting to be nice to her so she would help him or because she had seen him with his walls down.

When they were both back in their dorms Lilly couldn't sleep; partly because of the task facing her in the morning and partly because she couldn't stop thinking about how differently Draco had acted in the library. Draco too, could not sleep, but for different reasons. Every time he managed to slip under for even a few seconds, his nightmare would return and it was always the same. That girl would be lying on the floor, beaten and tortured and Voldemorts voice would speak in his ear, telling him to finish her off. He would always be thrown awake after a bright flash of green.

After what was probably the longest night of both of their lives, the morning of the first task finally arrived. Lilly and the other three were escorted into a tent entrance to a gigantic stadium. Fudge entered with a small felt bag. He ordered each champion to reach inside and select a dragon to fight. Lilly went second to last. She reached in and wrapped her hand around a small little reptile that was relatively smooth. When she opened her hand she held a Norwegian Ridgeback. It was Harrys' she was mainly concerned about because he had a Hungarian Horntail. She elected to go last so she could make sure to be uninjured should something happen to Harry or the others. She wanted to be ready to protect someone if she had to. Fleur went first, then Krum, and finally Harry. Lilly paced the tent in her long sleeve, blue and shiny bronze shirt and her black leggings. She sat down and made sure her boots were tied again and twiddled her wand impatiently. She threw her hair into a very long French braid and tied it off just as Fudge announced her name. The curtains opened and she stepped out into the arena. The crowd cheered loudly for her and Draco sat up in his seat, on edge about the whole situation and, though he hated it, he knew he was scared for her. Goyle eyed him curiously but decided against asking his friend about his strange behavior.

A loud roar sounded and her dragon landed in front of Lilly, ramming its tail into her chest and throwing her into the wall of the arena. She hit the floor and tumbled out of the way just in time to narrowly avoid being fried to a crisp. Her dragon was rather unhappy that she was in his personal space. She searched frantically, trying to keep her head clear all while planning on how she could get around the dragon to the egg on the other side of the arena. She didn't want to hurt the thing so she decided not to hex or jinx it like the others had. This time when the tail came down on top of her and she dodged it she grabbed onto it and was whipped up into the air before landing on the back of the dragon. It tried to shake her off and thrashed violently, spewing fire into the stands and burning a few spectators. Lilly managed to climb to its head. She jumped off its back when it was closest to the floor but its tail came back around and slammed her into the ground and several bones cracked. Lilly struggled to get up. She made it to her feet but her ankle was broken. She tried to pull out her wand but it had fallen out when she was hit. The dragon reared its head and the flames came down over her and the entire crowd went silent. She managed to use her wandless-magic skills to shield herself from the flames but as soon as she was up it lashed at her again and again. Finally she grabbed the egg. All her friends cheered and Draco shouted 'yes!' loudly and jumped with excitement when she made it out of the arena with her life. Crabbe and Goyle shot him curious glances and he cleared his throat and sat back down, trying to act like he didn't care. Lilly was taken out of the arena and directly to the infirmary.

She was sitting on her hospital bed talking with Demetri when the doors opened and Draco came in. He was shocked to see her sitting there with not a single broken bone, bruise or cut to be seen. Not even a scar. Lilly looked over and Demetri left when he noticed the look his sister was giving him.

"Hey look who came to see me. -king-of-the-downers." Lilly laughed a bit, tying her shoes back on.

Draco looked her up and down "What happened. You were mangled and your leg was broken..." he trailed off still in shock. Lilly stood up.

"Fine now but thanks for the concern. Guess the big bully does have a heart." She gave him a little punch on his shoulder. "Aww don't tell me someone was worried about me." She teased.

Draco turned to leave "I was rooting for the dragon." Lilly laughed and followed him out. When she returned to the Ravenclaw common room she received a hero's welcome. Everyone was cheering for her and they all wanted to see the egg. She held it up and they all cheered again but then she opened it. Everyone dropped to the floor and covered their ears as the most blood-curdling screams sounded and Lilly closed it immediately. A few first years were taken to the infirmary for ear bleeds. Lilly laughed nervously and apologized. After giving her entire house migraines, she decided it was best to just go to bed. She sat up on her bed and stared at the egg.

Luna looked over and set her book down "Mermaids."

Lilly looked at her confused. "What?"

"Mermaids. They sound like that above water. They can only be heard when they are underwater."

"How did you know that?"

"I find mythical creatures quite fascinating, really. Besides, there are plenty of them living in the Black Lake." Lilly and Luna then snuck out to the prefects bathroom, filled the tub with water, stuck their heads under and tested the egg theory. When they came back up for air Lilly was short of breath for another reason. _Well. This is certainly harder than fighting a dragon. How am I supposed to keep Harry safe under water? _


	4. Chapter 4

Things continued normally for a few days. Classes went on and eventually all dragon chatter had come to an end. A week after the challenge, Lilly and Neville sat with Luna in the courtyard outside the transfiguration room. They were reviewing all that they could about merpeople and different charms for breathing underwater. The noise in the yard grew and Lilly saw kids crowding around what appeared to be a fight about to break out. She got up and weaved her way into the crowd to the front at the same time as Professor Moody. Moody shoved Harry behind him and backed Draco into a tree before he pulled out his wand. Lilly slammed into him, causing the jinx to miss and hit Goyle instead, turning him into a ferret. Draco looked stunned as Lilly cast a shield, her wand nowhere on her person. Moody cracked his jaw back. "Did you just hit a teacher?"

"A teacher is not allowed to jinx a student." She spat back at him. He angrily fired the same curse at her. She staggered backwards slightly, taking the hit, but the spell did nothing to her and McGonagle intervened before anything else happened. Draco muttered a barely audible 'thanks…' before storming off. He headed straight for the out of order bathroom, leaning into the wall and sinking to the floor. He let out a long breath and rubbed his forehead. He had literally been millimeters away from being a ferret at Moodys command. Why on earth did Lilly take both of those hits for him? She had protected him yet again without any cause to. Draco couldn't understand why she was so different but everything that separated her from the others as an outcast just made him gravitate to her more. He wanted to return the favor, maybe save her for a change though he was the one knee-deep in hell. He didn't care that Crabbe and Goyle mocked him every time they caught him zoned out or looking at her. There was just something so wonderfully different about this girl that for the first time in a very long time, Draco could see a normal life in his future. _What are you saying, Draco. Stop this. Stop it. Shes a Ravenclaw. Shes…he`ll kill her…he`ll have her killed if..ugh! _Draco grabbed handfuls of his hair and sat in anger.

"Why must you insist on getting yourself into trouble?" Draco jumped slightly, not having heard Lilly come in. She set her bag down and walked over to sit in front of him. "Promise me you will stop starting fights." She gave him a fairly stern look.

Draco let out a shaky breath "Lilly you have to stop…" She looked taken aback. He had called her by her first name.

"Stop what?"

"This. Stop…trying to help me. It'll get you killed Lilly if he finds out…" Lilly laughed. Draco was shocked.

"Lilly I'm serious."

She laughed again "Draco he can't hurt me. You just have to trust me. I promised I would help you and I'm not gonna let some nose-less snake charmer break that promise." Draco felt sick to his stomach. She held his face and shook it a bit "He can't hurt me. You don't have to worry."

"How can you be so sure."

"You just…have to trust me. He can't kill me." Lilly changed the subject, reaching for her bag. She took out her egg and explained what she had learned about the second task. They sat and talked for awhile then Lilly left because she had a study date with Hermione and Luna in the library. Draco didn't know what was coming over him anymore but, though he both hated himself for it and was afraid of it, he was falling for a Ravenclaw. He sat and watched her leave. The afternoon orange sun made her glow and her hair shine a vibrant chestnut when she opened the door. Each of her freckles seemed to dance on her face and Draco felt a pain in his chest. He decided that this would be his year; the year he took chances. Draco left right after her and immediately tracked down Lillys friend Cho.

After a few hours in the library the trio had decided that Lilly and Harry could use Gilly weed that Neville would get for them from Herbology. Luna and Lilly walked back to their dorm together, sharing a box of Bernie botts. They answered the riddle and walked into their common room. Everyone quieted and looked over at them. A small crowd was gathered around the center table. Everyone turned to stare at her when they heard the door close. Cho wedged her way to the front. "Um…Lilly…these came for you…" the students cleared away from the table. On top was a small stand that held the most beautiful wreath comprised of elegant white and blue Lilies. She walked over to the table and picked up the small envelope floating in the centre. Inside was an invitation in silver lettering.

'Dear Lilly, it would be an honor if you would accompany me to the Yule Ball. –D.M'.

Lillys face went bright red. She picked up the wreath and excused herself upstairs. Luna followed her up to their room.

"Who is it from?" She asked excitedly. Lilly was staring at the card in her hands, hardly believing it was real.

"Um…its…its from…Draco…" Luna spat out her pumpkin juice and looked bewildered at her best friend.

"Draco?" Lilly nodded.

She didn't sleep that night. She sat on the windowsill holding her wreath and looking out over the school grounds until the sun rose.

Lilly sat with all her friends at breakfast the morning of the second task. She kept stealing glances over to the Slytherin table. It was a little obvious that Draco was trying to avoid eye contact.

"Has anyone seen Hermione or Ron?" Harry asked, joining Cho and Lilly. Neville came and sat down too.

"No but they might be with Luna. She didn't come down with me this morning, she left early." Lilly said, offering an apologetic piece of toast to her friend. Harry shook it off as nothing and accepted the bread before they walked to the second task together. They split the gilly weed and wished good luck with a hug before going to their respective starting blocks on the docks. Lillys suit was a bronze two piece, plain and simple with her hair in her waist-long braid. She stood up on her starting block, staring nervously into the water below. Draco stood behind the rope in Lillys cheering crowd, watching her nervously. Lilly stuffed the gilly weed into her mouth and choked it down. Harry did the same when he noticed Lilly eating it. Lilly dove in with the canon fire. She quickly sank to the bottom, grabbing at her neck and legs in pain. The gilly weed morphed her legs into a mermaids fin and formed gills on her neck. When her eyesight adjusted underwater she noticed Harry and they nodded to each other before swimming off. After about forty minutes of searching, they came to a clearing that was crawling with merpeople. Luna, Ron, Hermione, and Fleurs little sister were tethered to the bottom of the lake. Lilly swam over and freed Luna and Harry untied Ron just as Krum came for Hermione. Fleur never showed up. Lilly motioned to Harry to save Fleurs sister when the merpeople surrounded them. Harry shot a curse at the rope, freeing Fleurs sister. He grabbed her and Ron and swam as fast as he could to the top. They started to close in around him and Lilly. She shoved Luna and Fleurs sister to the surface and pulled the merpeople off Harry. She motioned for him to save himself as she held them off. Harry carried them their friends the rest of the way. Lilly tried to distract the merpeople. They attacked her and pulled her down. Harry broke surface with the others back at the docks.

Neville looked nervous "Wheres Lilly?".

Dracos heart stopped. He jumped the line and ran over to the edge of the docks to help pull Ron and the girls out of the water. Harry turned around as the water started to tint red. He and Krum dove back in and Fudge sent out rescue boats. Lilly was pressed to the bottom, the gilly weed had worn off and she was chocking on water, covered in lacerations. She soon fell unconscious.

Harry and Krum jinxed the mermaids off and hauled Lilly to the surface. They got her on a boat and back to the docks, trying to stop the bleeding.

"Is she nuts?" asked Neville.

"No. She saved my life." Harry responded, helping to get her on a stretcher and they sent her to the infirmary. Draco asked Harry what happened as the two of them rushed off to the infirmary.

"Why do you care?" Draco ignored him and shoved past him into the infirmary. Demetri had beaten them there and was fending emergency teams off his sister, telling them she would heal and they needed to leave. Eventually Dumbledore and McGonagle arrived and had Lilly separated from the rest of the patients. They told Madame Pomfrey that she need not provide medical care and left Lilly in Demetris hands. Draco pulled the curtain back and asked if he could sit. Demetri nodded to the open chair and sat on the windowsill. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Luna came in a few minutes later. By then almost all of Lillys cuts had healed themselves and as her friends watched in shock the last of them closed up and she coughed up water. Demetri sat her up as she spat lake water on the floor.

"Where am I…" She asked, her head throbbing.

"You're in the infirmary." Her brother replied.

"You saved our lives, Lil." Ron said, the others nodding too. Fleur entered with her little sister and hugged Lilly tightly.

"Tu as protégé ma soeur! Merci!" She said before taking her sister back to the rest of her friends. The others thanked her and stayed until she was fully recovered. Demetri left with the group but Draco stayed behind. Lilly stood up, got a major head rush and stumbled. He caught her and helped her stay standing.

"Lilly you should probably sit down."

"No I'm alright." She pulled away and managed to stand on her own until her headache cleared.

"Why did you do that…"

"Do what?" she replied, putting a sweater on over her bathing suit.

"You should have died. You almost _died._"

"It was one life or four." She shrugged simply as if sacrificing her life was something she did daily. She put the blanket back on the cot and turned to leave.

"Draco?"

"Yah."

"Thanks for the wreath." She gave him a little smile and headed back to her dorm.


	5. Chapter 5

Lilly was the talk of the school for the next week. Everyone was asking her about how she saved the lives of four students. She was growing tired of it and usually stayed close to her friends and in the library to avoid her fan club of first years. Eventually, the day of the Yule Ball came. Lilly had managed to keep the knowledge of the wreaths original owner between her and Luna.

The great hall was decorated as a winter forest paradise with snow falling from the rafters. Draco stood by himself off to the side in the entrance hall in his black dress robes; the finest his father could have tailor-made for him. He watched everyone else go past him into the dance hall. Harry and his crowd of friends also waited in the entrance hall and they were all waiting for the same person. Luna came down first and joined her friends who all told her she looked very pretty and stood next to Demetri who was her escort for the night. He gave her a little corsage that made her smile brightly and he offered her his arm which she happily took.

"Oh my gosh…" Cho said, looking to the top of the stairs.

Lilly was making her way down the staircase. Her hair was curled and pulled up into some form of a ponytail on her head with a gold band holding it up. Her gown was white and Grecian and flowed to the floor in a way that made her waist seem invisible, with one slit running up to her mid-thy. One long slice of fabric hung from her right shoulder down to the end of the small train on her dress like a shoulder sash. The gown shimmered almost as brightly as her golden upper arm band that was a feather and her golden eye shadow. Draco couldn't help but stare. He felt a hitch in his throat and he couldn't focus on anything else. She looked like a goddess straight out of a Greek palace. She gave a small wave to her friends who McGonagle broke apart to get Harry to line up for the champions entrance. Her group left before she got to the bottom of the stairs.

"You look…absolutely beautiful…" Draco said, blushing.

"Thanks." She smiled, taking his arm. They were the first pair in line and Harry and Hermione behind them were absolutely stunned to see them together. The doors opened and every ones attention was on them as Draco escorted her to the floor and took her waist. The music started and Draco lead Lilly as they glided over the dance floor together.

"Not bad, Malfoy." She gave him a little smirk. Draco laughed and shrugged.

"That's what you get when your rich father makes you take lessons."

People were murmuring about the odd couple. Pansy tried to wedge her way between them several times throughout the night but gave it a rest and went to shag some other Slytherin boy. They danced together all night and when the slow music was substituted for pop bands Lilly managed to get Draco to come dance with her and all of her friends who were nice to him for the night. He felt rather liberated. For the first time all year he had forgotten about all of his problems and obligations and just had fun with this beautiful girl in front of him.

The pair walked out into the courtyard to cool down in the cold winter air. Lilly was laughing as she brushed snow off a bench and sat down, taking off one of her heels to rub her foot. "I haven't had this much fun in years. Curse my weak feet." She laughed again.

"I think this is the most fun I've had…ever." Draco said. Lilly looked up at him.

"Really?" He just nodded. Lilly scooted over and patted the bench next to her. Draco sat down and stretched his rather sore legs.

"Thanks." She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"For spying on me in the out-of-order bathroom." Lilly laughed.

"How is..um.." she motioned to his arm.

"It doesn't hurt anymore…"

"Good. As soon as this tournament is over you can come back with Demetri and I…if you want, I can try to get the mark off you…but, you know, it's ok if you…" Lilly found her sentence cut short by a pair of lips on hers. She flushed bright red and the kiss was over in a second.

"I`m sorry…" He stood up and headed to walk back inside. Lilly stood up and stopped him in the hallway, pulling him into a separate corridor.

"I`m so not supposed to do this but I don`t even care." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight to him, kissing her back with everything he had. She wrapped her arms around his neck. It wasn't long until she opened her mouth a bit wider. Her heart raced as his tongue swept inside her mouth. He pressed her into the wall and moved one of his hands down to her hips. She tangled her fingers in his hair and caught him letting a tiny moan escape. He felt something hot in the pit of his stomach that he had never felt so strongly before, despite all his one-nights with Pansy. He couldn't think straight anymore. This girl had him wrapped around her finger. Her hands were on his chest, slipping under the outer coat of his dress robes and gliding over his white dress shirt. He moved his hand on her hip so his fingers dipped into the cut that ran up to her mid-thy. His thumb lightly grazed over the top band to the rather lacy piece of underwear clad around her hips. Lilly felt her face go red as he ran his other hand down the middle of her back and she shivered, moaning rather loudly. _That was a rather…weird reaction. _He thought. He dipped a finger under the edge of her underwear and gently ghosted over her opening. Lilly kissed him harder, wrapping a leg around his hip and pressing against him in a way that made him want to pull her into the nearest classroom. The hand on her back ran up and down her spine, seemingly causing her unravel even more so than his fingers. She managed to finally push him back before he saw something she didn't want him to see. Her back was in pain now and they were both breathing heavy and their faces were bright red. Draco didn't know what he was doing but he didn't care anymore. He cared so much for this girl that it hurt. He held her tight still and rested his head on hers. He knew he couldn't save her now. He had doomed her and if the Dark Lord or his father ever found out…he shuddered to think about what they would do to her. She stayed with him and after the dance he walked her back to the Ravenclaw stairway. They said goodnight and she went into her common room. He watched her go inside and as soon as the door was closed he felt a sudden, strong wave of guilt smack him out of nowhere. _What am I doing? I`ll get her killed! I can't keep doing this… _He sighed and walked nervously back to his room.

Christmas break came sooner than they thought and before the students knew it the train was at the station to take kids back to Kings Cross. Lilly came downstairs in her skirt with a Weasley sweater of her own in blue with a large silvery 'L' on it. She sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry and her brother, both of whom were also staying for Christmas break. They were engaged in a game of Wizard Chess that was evenly matched. Lilly sat stirring her hot chocolate and looking at the snow outside the windows. She noticed Draco standing in the doorway. He nodded and she got up and followed him outside. He was dressed in his black coat and hat and set his suitcase down.

"You're leaving?"

He nodded. "You're not?"

"No…"

"Oh…well…here I wanted to give you this before I left." He handed her a card. She smiled and took it before producing a small box of her own and giving it to him. He smiled and it warmed her to see it because it was such a rare emotion he let slip through the cracks.

"I'll see you in two weeks." He kissed her cheek and headed off to the train station at Hogsmeade.

Christmas morning Lilly came down to her common room. There were only two other Ravenclaw students who stayed behind and she didn't know either of them. Under the tree was a small box with her name on the tag. Surprised, she picked it up and opened it. It was a small black box. Inside was a golden feather charm on a golden chain. She put it on and went to meet up with Harry and her brother.

"Happy Christmas!" She said, hugging them both and giving them the presents she had bought.

"Nice necklace." Harry said.

"Thanks. I got it as a present but I don't know who its from." She sat down and opened the card Draco had given her. It gave her Christmas wishes and hopes that she liked the necklace he had found for her in Hogsmeade, saying that he simply couldn't leave it in the store when it reminded him of her so much. Lilly smiled and spent the rest of her day with her friends.

Meanwhile, at Malfoy manor, Christmas was not being celebrated. Draco and his father sat at a table in their dining room with the other death eaters. At the very head of the table was the Dark Lord himself. He cleared his throat before he addressed his followers. "As we know, the…threat …we have tracked to Hogwarts has been entered in the Triwizard Tournament. If we continue with our plans, we may be able to kill two…birds…with one stone." He laughed in such a creepy way it gave Draco chills. He talked about some other things before dismissing his council of evil friends.

"Draco." Draco looked up. "I would like to speak with you for a moment." His heart stopped and he felt all the blood drain from his face. _They know._ He nodded and followed the Dark Lord and his father into the study. Before he had a chance to fully close the door behind him, a cruciatus curse hit him like a train and he sank to the floor,squirming. Voldemort stepped over and extracted a strand of memories and dropped them into a glass. Draco panicked. The memories formed and flashed rather quickly. Lilly on her first day, their encounter on the Quidditch field, their quiet study sessions in the library, their meetings in the bathroom, and finally, their rather heated moment after the Yule Ball. When the scenes disappeared his father stood up. He was tense and fuming with anger. He was hit with cruciatus yet again and when it stopped he was bleading in various places. Voldemort walked over and bent down by Dracos ear.

"My dear boy…you are trying my patience. I shall give you a…redemption path…this girl is more of a threat to our order than the boy she is there to protect. I have decided to take advantage of your closeness to her. Kill her by the end of the year, or I will. And if I have to, I will take you as well." With that, they left and Draco was alone on the floor. He started to shake and tears ran down his face as his mind filled with self-hate and regret for putting her in danger. _I'm sorry Lilly…_

*two weeks later*

School had started once again and after the first day of classes Lilly caught sight of Draco outside. She jogged to catch up with him.

"I love my necklace." She said, giving him a smile. He grabbed her arm and dragged her into the forest until he knew they were well out of sight.

"Hey!" She pulled her arm away. "What the hell?"

"Lilly you have to listen to me." She looked at his face long and hard. He had little scars on his cheek that weren't there two weeks ago. He looked dead.

"Draco what happened to you?" She said, now very concerned.

"Lilly they know. I…they tortured me Lilly, they want you dead, they…" he was trembling and clearly on the edge of an emotional breakdown. Lilly sat him down, and got him calm. "I don't understand any of it…they said you were dangerous…they're afraid of you…." Lilly didn't say anything, she just worked to get rid of his scars and heal some of the nasty cuts he had. He grabbed her hands and made her look at him. "Lilly, answer me. Why are they after you?"

She let out a long breath. "Because as long as I`m around, they know theres no way they can get to Harry." Draco looked a little surprised. "Demetri and I came to this school because a war is coming Draco, you know that. I'm sure you've noticed by now I'm not exactly normal."

"Then what are you?" He asked nervously.

"Why do you think Moody has taken two months to cover the angel and demon chapter in our DADA textbooks?"

Draco didn't know what to think. It all made so much sense now. He just never made the connections before. Angels could heal, they didn't need wands to manipulate things or work magic. They could travel through shadow or light and just seem to vanish. They healed almost as fast as they were injured and they had particularly weak feet. He sat there in the snow as it hit him. He had been ordered to do the impossible; kill an angel. He looked up at her but she was looking down at her hands tucked under her legs to keep them warm. Did she think he was mad?

"Lilly?"

She looked up to he caught off guard by yet another one of his surprise kisses. She sighed, kissing him back. He pulled away but kept a hand on her cheek. "I need help…" he said with a shaky voice. He could feel his walls falling down again but he didn't care anymore. "Please Lilly, I…I can't kill you…" She laughed, wiping his eyes.

"I know, silly. Draco I'm here to protect this school, you, and Harry." Him? What was so special about him? "I'm going to get you out of this." She said, holding his forearm.

"He's going to kill me."

"No he's not." She said sternly. "Not while I'm here." She hugged him and he hugged her back.

"Um…Lilly?"

"Yah?"

"Um…do you…would you mind…" She laughed and he suddenly felt rather stupid. She took off her coat and about a second later two massive wings erupted from her back. They were golden and white and shinned like the stars. Draco found himself breathless.

"Congrats. You've seen one of the rarest magical creatures in existence apart from unicorns." She laughed. He laughed too. From now on, Draco was no longer afraid of what was coming. He knew who he would be fighting for.


	6. Chapter 6

Lilly had searched all day to find Draco when he didn't show up for breakfast. Crabbe and Goyle were MIA too, according to a first year she paid off in chocolate frogs to spy on them. She caught up with Demetri before she had to head down to the arena for the third task.

"I can't find Draco. I have a very bad feeling about tonight. Whatever happens to me, stay with this school. Protect these kids. Promise me."

"What do you think is going to happen out there?"

"I have no idea but whatever happens I have to protect Harry, just keep the rest of the school safe if I don't come back." He promised and walked down with her to the arena, neither of them saying anything. Lilly was wearing the same, less singed version of, her outfit from the first task but she had a holster on her upper hip holding a collapsible golden staff. Lilly scanned the crowd as her canon fired. She opened her staff to full length and took one last look behind her as the hedges of the maze sealed her entrance way, only to notice one empty seat in the crowd amongst her friends. A seat reserved for Draco.

When the hedges sealed her in she immediately set off to track down Harry. What must have been about twenty minutes later she came to a clearing, using her staff to push through hedges that would try to close off paths in front of her. She heard footsteps and whipped around to see Harry sprinting towards a blue glow at the end of the trail. The Cup. Lilly felt a wave of cold pass over her. That was it! It was the cup! She panicked and tried to catch up to him.

"Harry! Don't take the cup!" He ignored her and ran for it. In one last resort, she jumped, knocking him back with her staff and landing on the cup. The port key was activated as soon as she came into contact with it and she vanished, leaving an upset but confused Harry safe in the middle of the maze.

Lilly was dumped onto a hard marble floor in some house she didn't recognize. She reached for her holster but her staff was back in the maze with Harry. She sat up slowly, looking around. The door in front of her opened and before she could even react she felt a strong _thud_ hit her in her gut. She grabbed it and stumbled back a bit. When she looked down she nearly fainted. Lilly had gone through her fair share of stabbings but this dagger was no ordinary dagger. It was a Fury claw. Since a Fury is a demon that has gone off the deep end and given in to the darkness, Fury claws contained venom that was deadly poisonous to angels and Lilly had a claw jammed into her stomach. She felt the area go numb as she pulled it out and tossed it across the room.

Maniacal, crackling female laughter echoed throughout the marble room and a crazed woman appeared in front of the fireplace. She took a swing at Lilly, slicing her cheek with that dagger. Lilly hissed, her eyesight in her right eye going as the venom turned the veins on that half of her face black. "Lookey here! Bratty birdy come to play!" She laughed again before jumping at Lilly. This time Lilly tried to ignore her pain and fight back. Her eyes flashed gold and the shadows around her shot out at Belatrix, grabbing at her and slamming her to the ground. Lillys head was pounding as the poisons grip o her grew tighter and her vision started to blur. Her nervous system was failing and she was losing. The Belatrix landed another slice on Lillys leg, knocking her to the ground. She grabbed her arms and pressed her face into thecold marble, the dagger threateningly close to Lillys throat.

"Where. Is. Potter?" she demanded in a harsh voice.

Lilly spat on her hand. "You`ll have to kill me first." In one last attempt, Lilly opened her wings and knocked the woman to the back of the room and into the wall. This angered her and Lilly was too weak to move. The woman pulled out her want and screamed '_Cruciatus!'. _Lilly collapsed, screaming on the floor. Her deranged attacker came back at her with the dagger, breaking both of Lillys wings and cutting her in various places before leaving the dagger in Lillys chest; right through her heart. Her world was spinning. She couldn't feel anything and her vision was practically gone.

"That's enough!" She heard a voice shout. "Get away from her, it was my job to finish her off."

The crazy girl scoffed before finally giving in and leaving.

Draco emerged from the back of the room, his gait was shaky and he felt light headed after what he had been forced to witness. He stared in horror at the real life version of his nightmares. The girl from his dreams was the girl _of _his dreams and there was nothing he could do to protect her. "Lilly…" he croaked, his voice cracking and shaky. Lilly barely managed to turn her head to see what her vision would let her make out of him.

Draco froze as he felt a familiar chill at his side. "Finish her, Draco." Voldemort said.

Draco felt sick. _Draco, you have to. It's ok._

_Lilly? How can I hear you in my head?_

_I told you silly, there's a lot I can do. You just have to trust me Draco. Do it, its ok. _

_You promised me he couldn't hurt you…_

_And he can't if you use the curse. It will keep you and your family alive. _

Now he was about to lose it. His arm was shaking as he held his wand out but couldn't bring himself to say it. Lilly closed her eyes, knowing she would have do intervene unless Voldemort was to kill Draco. She pressed into his mind with the strength she had left.

A strange force came over him and out came the killing curse from his lips. His heart stopped and he wanted to cry out, to pull the spell back into his wand but it was too late. The green flash caused Lilly to go limp on the floor, all the sparkle from her blue eyes; gone. He was going to throw up.

Voldemort placed his icy hand on Dracos shoulder. "Well done, my boy. Perhaps…you are of use to me after all. I see great things in your future." He ordered the other death eaters to remove the body. Narcissa came over and wrapped her arm around her sons shoulders and took him upstairs, muttering words of sympathy that simply went into one ear and out the other. Draco was numb to the world. He did not return to Hogwarts. Instead, his mother took him to his room and left to get him some food.

As soon as the door was closed Draco sank to the floor by the foot of his bed and cried. The horrifying image was plastered onto his eyes. He kicked his dresser in desperate frustration and a small black box fell onto the floor. He took it and opened it. A note fell out.

_I hope you have a nice Christmas back home, Draco! I know you don't seem to enjoy your family so you can always send me owl mail if you want. Anyways, I hope I can count on you to keep this safe for me. I've only got one!_

_Happy Christmas!_

_3 -L.K_

He held the letter in his hand tightly and let out a shaky breath. The gift underneath was a single golden band. It seemed to produce its own light the way it glowed in the box. Was it a bracelet? He put it on his wrist and is re-sized itself to fit snugly. His vision distorted and he was no longer in his room He was lying on a cold floor in his living room. Standing in front of him was, well…him. He was looking up at himself and Voldemort. He tried to move but couldn't feel anything. _What the hell?_ Then he heard her.

_He can't do it…I`m going to have to finish this for him. I`m sorry Draco…_

He felt himself intrude on his own mind and fire the killing curse. When the green flash hit him he was jolted from the scene and thrown back onto the floor of his bedroom. The bracelets glow dimmed and Draco tried to catch his breath. He had just been inside Lillys head. The bracelet had shown him it wasn't his fault. He passed out in an exhausted and emotionally defeated heap on his bedroom floor.


	7. Chapter 7

Back at Hogwarts, Fudge and Dumbledore had ordered a search of the maze after Harry returned stating the cup was cursed and Lilly was in danger, presenting her staff as evidence that she had not made it out of the maze. When the search turned up empty the students were dismissed for dinner and Fudge had ordered an investigation into a search for the missing champion.

In the great hall, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and even Luna sat with Demetri. He was unnaturally quiet and even Fred and George couldn't seem to brighten his spirits. The entire dinner hall seemed to have less energy. No one laughed or held any conversations. The room was simply filled with an uncomfortable silence. Demetri stood up. He needed to be by himself. As he went to leave the doors to the great hall were thrown open and his sister limped her way in. She was covered in dried blood and her veins were black. Both her wings were ratty and broken in multiple places. The student body gasped and Demetri raced over, catching her just as she collapsed. The silence in the room died as students nervously chattered about Lilly. Luna ran over to help Demetri. She and Hermione collected armfuls of Lillys wings and followed Demetri to the room of requirement, Fred, George, Harry and Ron followed them, keeping the other students away and the hallway clear. The room of requirement had provided them with a living room set up and a rather comfortable looking bed which is where they set Lilly down. McGonagle rushed in along with Dumbledore and Harry closed the door behind them.

"Am I the only one who wants to know what the bloody hell is going on here?" Ron asked, plopping down in one of the chairs.

Demetri seemed to be zoned out. He was busy mixing things in his little cauldron as fast as he could.

"Albus, what are we going to do? The whole school knows about her know and I do not believe the ministry will be too keen on her presence here, especially with, well, with you-know-who out and about."

"Our deal is up." Demetri said, remaining focused on whatever he was brewing. Luna was sitting next to him, handing him things he needed. She gave him a curious look.

Dumbledore spoke, "Though I do respect your personal decisions, , I am afraid my deal lies with your sister."

"Professor…what is going on?" Asked a confused Harry.

"Your headmaster, here, asked my sister to protect this school and you and in return he would grant her entrance to the Triwizard tournament to investigate tampering with the games. But the games are over and the deal is off." He stood up and sliced open the palm of his hand, grabbed a handful of the herbal mixture, rubbed his hands together and coated each of his sisters' cuts with the concoction. Ever so slowly her veins returned to being invisible under her skin and her wings started to heal. He wiped his hands off on a cloth and slouched down in a chair.

McGonagle and Dumbledore left to handle a rather furious Fudge who was ranting about firing Dumbledore in the hallway. Harry pulled a chair over and sat in front of Demetri.

"Your…um…your sister saved my life…twice, Demetri. It was Voldemort. I know it was I could feel it after she touched that port key." He motioned towards his scar.

Luna sat next to Demetri and gave his hand a little squeeze and offered him a small smile.

"Oy…who hit me with a truck." Lilly said, rubbing her forehead as she struggled to sit up. She froze when she realized she wasn't alone. "Well shit."

"I knew it."Luna giggled.

"How on bloody earth did you know? And how do we know she's not with them, eh? You've seen her! I've seen her! Hangin` round with Malfoy. And what are you supposed to be?" Ron waved his hand towards Demetri.

Hermione smacked Ron on the shoulder and chastised him for being rude. Demetris eyes went black, his nailsturning to claws as he gripped the arm of his chair and gave Ron a litte sneer. A pillow whacked him in the face. He shook his head, his eyes going back to blue and h shot a lookat his sister who stuck her tongue out at him.

"Be nice to people you old harpy."

"I am _not_ a crazy old harpy I am a demon, godsdamn it, sis." She threw another pillow at him.

"I`m here to help, Harry. I`m not going anywhere until Voldemorts gone for good. You can count one Guardian Angel in the ranks of the D.A." She gave a look to her brother who sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright. I`m in too."

The next day Lilly and Demetri were re-introduced to the student body as the resident guardians, there to protect from all threats from the Dark Lord and his supporters. Things continued on that way for the rest of the school year. Draco never returned and before they knew it everyone was waiting at the Hogsmeade station.

Lilly said goodbye to all her friends and stood with Demetri, waving as the train carried the students home for the summer. Lilly and Demetri walked back to the castle together to collect their things.

"So..Draco, huh?"

Lilly threw a pair of socks at her brother, laughing. "Oh butt out of it."

"What are we doing this summer?"

"Finding this." She held up a picture of a golden goblet. "It's one of his horcruxes. We`re going to meet up at the burrow."

"You aren't worried about Draco?" Lilly stopped packing and set one of her shirts down.

"I`m always worried about him." She closed her eyes and tried to connect with her halo. She could feel a steady pulse of energy, his heartbeat in his wrist against the bracelet; and hear muffled voices of other people and one that she recognized, Draco's. She smiled and opened her eyes again. "But I know that he`s safer if they think I`m dead."

"And that includes him?" Lilly nodded. Demetri did too. They threw their bags over their shoulders, took each other's hands and vanished off into the world to hunt down the first horcrux.


	8. Chapter 8

"Harry! They`re here!" Hermione called from the kitchen window of the Weasleys home. Harry and Ron came downstairs. Ginny opened the door and came in from the garden, hustling about to welcome the two new house guests. Lilly and Demetri came in, exhausted. Lilly looked fine apart from some singing on her outfit, her brother, on the other hand, looked like a coal miner and his hair was still smoking slightly.

"Oh, come in! Come in dearies! Ron! Take their things upstairs. Would you like some tea? My goodness what happened to you." She said, already trying to brush the dirt out of Demetris hair. Lilly laughed, thanked , and followed Harrry, Ron and Hermione into the living room. She pulled a small brown sack out of her backpack.

"I got it. Demetri had a little fun with the guard dragon but we`ve got it." She tossed the bag to Harry who opened it and looked long and hard at the golden goblet.

"How do we get rid of it?" Ron asked, taking the cup from Harry to look it over.

"With this one right here." Demetri said, messing up his sisters' hair. She gave him a look, her eyes flashed gold and her hair put itself in a perfect French braid. Lilly held her hands up and Ron tossed her the cup. She set it on her lap, took off one of her leather gloves and held the cup firmly in her hand. Her eyes glowed a consistent gold and after about a minute she started to close her hand on the cup. The goblet stayed midair but her hand moved through it, making a fist. She suddenly pulled her hand out of the cup which fell to the floor and shattered. When she opened her hand there was a small, black, misty ball sitting in her palm. She handed it to her brother whose eyes went black and a small flash of green went off in his hand and when it was gone so was the little black ball.

"What…what did you just do…?" Harry asked cautiously.

"You want the most efficient horcrux killer, an angel is the best way to go. She can handle human souls among other species and…"

"And he destroys them." Lilly finished for her brother.

"You just pulled the piece of his soul out of that cup?" Hermione asked. Lilly nodded.

"Well…at least we know how to get rid of them." Ron said, putting his feet up. Lilly felt something rub her wrist and looked down, expecting a cat only to see there was nothing there yet the feeling did not go away. _It`s on his wrist… _She smiled.

With the first horcrux out of the way every ones attention turned towards the start of the new school year.

"Draco, I have faith in you to fulfill this task."

Draco stood in front of the Dark Lord. His eyes were dim and encased by wide-spread purple from a severe lack of sleep. His shoulders slouched more and his hair was no longer neatly trimmed or combed. He looked like death as he stood before Voldemort, nervously rubbing his thumb over the gold band he never took off. It settled him somehow knowing it was once Lillys. His new assignment was to kill Headmaster Dumbledore. His nights were more like days without the sun. He didn't sleep anymore. Whenever he fell asleep he would re-live that awful night. School started in just one week and he had spent his entire summer doing the Dark Lords dirty work. He had killed at least a handful of muggle-borns, used the cruciatis curse more times than he could count, and stood by helpless as a witness to the death of at least a hundred other people he did not know. Ever since he lost Lilly he never really existed. He receded into his mind and let the Dark Mark take over. He dreaded going back to Hogwarts but he would only be there until he offed Dumbledore. _It won't be so bad…_ He had to tell himself. He was dismissed from the Dark Lords presence and decided to go for a walk. He headed out onto the manor grounds and walked until he hit a beach. He sat down on the sand and tried to clear his head. Thee getaways were his only form of escape. Whenever he was alone like this, the bracelet would act up and reveal something new to him. After a minute he felt the familiar pull and the scene around him changed.

Draco found himself standing in an alley. Directly in front of him was, him. Replaying in front of him was a scene from about a month ago. He had been ordered to track down a muggle-born who worked for the Daily Prophet. He had her beaten on the floor and he was currently using the cruciatus curse when a few wizards showed up to fight him off. He hadn't seen them and one had fired the killing curse. Draco lurched forward, standing directly behind the past version of himself, took the spell and aimed it so it just barely missed past him by an inch, hitting the brick wall and alerting past-Dracos attention to the thugs behind him. Then he took two other hits for his old self before the vision threw him back onto the beach. Draco was confused. That was only a month ago but Lilly had died three months ago. So how could she have saved him in that alley? He hadn't seen her there at all on that night when she, apparently, had been standing right in front of him. Draco sighed and rubbed the bracelet, looking out over the water and wishing it had been him on the floor that night instead of her.

*one week later*

The Slytherin table was rather excited at dinner on the first night. Draco was back and everyone was trying to fish out of him the details of his summer. Pansy Parkinson was all over him. She was always either leaning on him, trying to hold his hand, or trying to inch her hand a little closer to his inner thy under the table. Draco was rather uninterested and drawn back from both the sorting hat ceremony and Pansy, with whom he had given up trying to push her off him.

His ears perked up and pulled him back into reality when Dumbledore started speaking about Death Eater threats to the school.

"Darker times are approaching. But, as I have said before, this school, its staff, and myself, will do everything in our power to ensure your protection within these halls. It is with that said that I would like to welcome back two individuals to our school. They will remain with us for the school year to handle any threats, inside or outside of Hogwarts, that may arise from any supporters. Please, make welcome, Mr. Demetrius Knight…" He motioned to his left and a black smoke cloud emerged from the floor them solidified, like a shadow standing upright and Demetri stepped out, the shadow shattering to dust behind him. Draco sat upright, surprised to see him back at Hogwarts. Dumbledore motioned to his right "…and Mrs. Elysium Knight." A bright light shot down from the rafters in a flash and then shot out across the room. When it dimmed to the rooms normal fire-glow hue, Lilly stood smiling in front of her peers clad in her black leggings, knee-high brown riding boots, white dress shirt under a brown quarter-sleeve blazer and her hair in a long braid down to her waist. Draco froze in his seat in a cold sweat. She was alive. She was alive! Elysium. Elysium. He knew that name from somewhere. He made a mental note to look it up later. Demetri and his sister took seats at the head table next to each other. Draco didn't eat. He ignored everyone at his table and as soon as dinner was dismissed he bolted out of the great hall and up to the astronomy tower. He loosened his tie and leaned over the railing, panting and trying to fight off his nausea.

After all the students left the dinner hall Lilly excused herself and vanished in the same flash of light she had entered the room with. She stepped out of a shadow in the astronomy tower.

"Hey…" she said in a rather quiet voice. "Draco…I didn`t know you were coming back, I…"

She was cut off when Draco turned around. He walked over to her and backed her up against the wall of the tower. His face was millimeters from hers. He brought his had up to her cheek and kissed her hard. She relaxed against the wall and kissed him back just as passionately as she had the night of the Yule ball. His strong arms pulled her tight to his chest and she tangled her fingers in his hair. He moved his lips across her cheek and down her neck, burying intimate kisses just under her shirt collar. She was shaken slightly from her daze when she felt him shake slightly and cold, little raindrops hit her shoulder.

"Draco…?" She tried to push him away so she could see his face but his arms tightened around her and he buried his face deeper into the nape of her neck. She managed to get her wings out and wrap them around him. They sank to the floor and she hugged him until he calmed down. Finally he sat up and cleared his throat. Lilly moved the hair off his face, laughing a bit. He looked absolutely dead. "Good gods, Draco, what happened to you…"

"I tried to leave. That's what happened to me." He said quietly. "Lilly, you…you have no idea…the things they made me do…"

"I do know, Draco. I never actually left you." She said. She took his wrist and ran a finger over the gold band which seemed to glow to her touch. "It wouldn't have mattered if they thought I was dead, if you knew I was alive they would have found out and killed you. But I never left. A guardian doesn't leave. I gave you my halo so I could stay with you. I know what Voldemort asked you to do." Draco didn't say anything. He didn't look at her either.

"Lilly…"

"Yah?"

""Lilly, you can't keep helping me. I don't have a way out of this. I knew it the day you died. That's why I gave in. I agreed to kill all those people, torture all those mudbl…muggle-borns…I`m not a good person. I want meant to be and…" he was cut off by a sharp slap to the face.

"Don't you say that about yourself. There is a way out for you, Draco, I can see it. It won't be easy but I want to help you. You`re at the school now. I can keep you safer here. We will figure something out, I promise."

Draco leaned his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. He was so exhausted, physically and emotionally, and all he wanted was to leave this god awful war. All his stress seemed to ebb if even for a moment when Lilly tightened her wings around them.

"Lilly, I love you." Lilly looked up at him. "I don't care about what my father will do or what the Dark Lord will do, I don't want to care about any of it." He was visibly upset now and shaking slightly. Lilly hugged him tightly.

"We`re going to get out of this together." Her halo on his wrist glowed slightly as he kissed her again. This year was going to be rough but he would get though it if she was there to help.


End file.
